Silas Coma Garrett III (March 28, 1913 – July 24, 1967) was an American politician and attorney who served as

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

for from 1951 to 1954. Garrett was born in

Grove Hill, Alabama Grove Hill is a town in Clarke County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 1,818. It is the county seat of Clarke County and home of the Clarke County Museum. History The area that is now Grove Hill was originally i ...

, the son of Judge Silas Coma Garrett Jr., probate judge of

Clarke County, Alabama Clarke County is a County (United States), county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 23,087. The county seat is Grove Hill, Alabama, Grove Hill. T ...

. He graduated from the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

in 1933, where he was a member of the

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

and

Sigma Chi Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American social Fraternities and sororities, fraternities. The fraternity has 244 active undergraduate chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has ...

fraternities, and later served in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel. Garrett served as an assistant attorney general of Alabama shortly after his graduation from law school at the age of 22, from 1935 until 1942, when he resigned in order to run for election as attorney general. However, he eventually withdrew from the race in order to serve in the military for

. Considered a promising prospect for the office for many years, he was eventually elected as Attorney General in 1951. On July 12, 1954, Garrett was indicted and arrested on one count of

voter fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud, or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share o ...

alleged to have occurred in the Democratic

primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...

for Attorney General of June 1, 1954. After his opponent

Albert Patterson Albert Love Patterson (January 27, 1894 – June 18, 1954) was an American politician and attorney in Phenix City, Alabama. He was assassinated outside his law office shortly after he had won the Democratic nomination for Alabama Attorney Gener ...

was murdered on June 18, 1954, Garrett was amongst three officials who were specifically indicted for Patterson's murder, along with Chief Deputy Sheriff Albert Fuller and

Circuit Solicitor In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

Arch Ferrell. Of the three, only Fuller was convicted; he was sentenced to life imprisonment but was released after 10 years. Fuller died within the same year as his parole and claimed his innocence until his dying day. Ferrell was acquitted and Garrett was never brought to trial. His charges were dropped by then-Attorney General Richmond Flowers, because Garrett was convalescing in a mental institution in Texas for most of the year after Patterson's murder. Garrett later resided in

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama. Named for Continental Army major general Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River on the Gulf Coastal Plain. The population was 2 ...

, until his death on July 24, 1967, after a brief illness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garrett, Si 1913 births 1967 deaths Alabama attorneys general Alabama Democrats People from Grove Hill, Alabama University of Alabama School of Law alumni United States Army personnel of World War II People charged with murder